A light passenger aircraft carrying 19 people was forced to make an emergency landing minutes after taking off from an airfield near Yakutsk due to an engine problem, local investigators said Wednesday.
The L-410 turboprop operated by Polar Airlines, a small Sakha-based carrier, turned back to the airfield in the village of Magan after its right engine apparently failed, Interfax reported, citing investigators.
"We didn't even have time to get properly scared," one of the passengers told Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
The plane was carrying 17 passengers and 2 crew members. No one was hurt in the incident, and the plane was not damaged.
All the passengers were later airlifted by an An-24 to their destination — the small town of Ust-Maya, around 400 kilometers away.
"It was a little scary to fly the second time, but we got there all right," the unidentified passenger said.
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